arrange • compose • conduct
“I don’t like their voice” is about the least compelling criticism I’ve ever heard. Almost any singer whose voice is distinctive from the average sound is going to receive this criticism. I’ve heard it recently about both Jacob Collier and Lin-Manuel Miranda. But I could have heard it said about […]
Both of the ensembles I lead got to have cathartic ends to the year – an outdoor concert in May for Shades of Blue, and just last night, a year-capping concert with the Rockford Aces. It wasn’t precisely the same as usual – we didn’t have our usual size of […]
I attended a sixth grade band concert Tuesday night – the first and last time this year that these brand-new instrumentalists could share music with an audience. My friend, the band director Ms. Kilgore, did a wonderful job teaching the students. And she did two things in the concert that […]
Yesterday we had our first (and last) Rockford Choirs concert of 2020-21. The Farewell Concert was also the get-to-know-you concert. I feel incredibly lucky we got to have it at all. I hope beyond hope that I’ll never again take for granted the chance to make music with an audience. […]
I’ve had several conversations recently looking to the future in which the other person had a default plan of continuing with livestream or digital stream as a standard practice for future concerts and performances. I sincerely hope that this doesn’t become common practice. There is value in archival recording a […]
There’s only one type of musical ensemble I can think of that regularly stays stock still in performance. Not jazz bands. Not rock bands. Certainly not K-Pop or other Boy Bands. Not Gospel, acapop, Barbershop, or vocal jazz groups. Even orchestras and concert bands are routinely moving in sync with […]
The other side of the concert. I spent Saturday feeling utterly wiped – to the point of taking a long nap, which I almost never do. It was only late in the day that I realized I was suffering from a concert “hangover.” Hadn’t had one in 15 months. The […]
I was part of my first live concert in 15 months today. The first concert after the long quiet. The last time I went that long between musical performances, I was a toddler. Thank you, Shades of Blue, for your yesness. For facing the many challenges of 2020 and 2021, […]
I’m excited that my first live concert in over a year is just one week away. With tremendous support from leadership at GRCC, and incredible work from Shades of Blue, I’m excited to present a concert of live jazz, out on the lawn behind the Music Center. We’ll present three […]
For the last three nights, I have sat in a darkened auditorium – masked, socially distanced, and fully vaccinated – and watched live theatre. The performers were masked too – masked as they sang, danced, tumbled, ran, and performed their hearts out. And I wept. I wept for the lost […]